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(No Model.)

R. B. AYRQES; v OPERATING STREET 0R STATIONINDIGATORS.

-1 a dm 9s r14: NORRIS PETER; 00., wAsnnvsmN, n. c.

7 UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

' RUBEN B. AYRES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

OPERATING STREET OR STATION INDICATORS.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,607, dated May 30, 1893.

' Application filed December 22 1891- Serial No. 415,891. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that" I, RUBEiv B. AYRES, acitizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Operating Street or Station Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description-of the invention, such as.

will enable othersskill'ed inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in devices or means foroperating street or station indicators of electric cars fromthe trolley or overhead wire of an electric railway system rand it consists substantially in such featuresbfarrange ment, constructionand combinations of parts as will hereinafter be more'particularly deagency of mechanical appliances connecting the same with the trackrail itself or with one or more of the car wheels passing over said track-rail. It has been common furthermore to provide railway cars with similar-- indicators which-are operated or set inmotion by the opening or closing of an electric circuit. that-is maintained by the use of anelectric battery located within the car and suitable electric conductors connecting such batteryv w'iththe-indicator. In electric railway cars, the use of such devices as are necessary to operate the indicator in a mechanical way, when added to the connections requisite to the electric propulsion of the car renders the cost very great, besides requiring separateattention on the part of the attendant or operator. Also in electric railway cars the use of an independent battery and wire" connections for operating the indicator in an electrical manner or way requires separate attention on the part of the operator besides adding much to the expense and being very liable to get out of order. y 4

Thcobject of this invention is to provide for the operation of street or station indicators for electric railway cars directly from the of which the car is moved or propelled.

trolley or overhead wire through thejagency 5 5 A further object of the invention is to dispense with the use of all devices or appliances beneath the car for operating the indi-' cator, as well also as the use of a battery or other independent source of electric power within the car. Y

-A third and final object of the invention is to provide for the operation of street or station indicators of electric railway cars by the use of the same current or electro-motive force by which the car is propelled, all as will more fully hereinafter appear when taken in cennect-i'owwith the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of my improved means or devices for-operating street or station indicators of electric railway cars, the said-figure indicating 'the use of a. normally open electric circuit between the indicator mechanism and trolley'or'overhead wire, as well as the preferred .form of electrical contact devices which are employed to close the circuit at" proper intervals or points along the line of therailway system. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, representing in full lines the position of the electric contact devices when in the act of closing the circuit, and in dotted lines the position asvsumed after the contacts'have' passed each" other. Fig.3 is a front view of Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 is a top] or plan View thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the bracket. Fig.6

'is a similar view'of thetrolley wheel yoke and contact support; and Fig. 7 is also a detail view representing the preferred form of movable or traveling electrical contact. Fig.

8 is a view in detail representing the -construction and operation of the elastic cushion fer restoring-the contact fingerafter it has beendepressed.

As will beunderstood myinvention is in- I tended to cover both the" use of mechanical or electrical means for operating the indicator from the trolley .wire, and it will not be nec: essary to illustrate any particular form of indicator since it is evident that any well known form could be employed. The invention is intended more particularly however to be emby a yoke or frame (3.

'ployed in connection with the kind of indicator described-and claimed in my two former patents dated January 26, 1892, and numbered 467,678 and 467,884, respectively.

In the practice of my invention I prefer the use of an electric circuit between the trolley wire and indicator which serves to operate the latter on the opening or closing of said'circuit, accordingly as an open or closed circuit it had. As a 'pret'errcd construction I provide upon the trolley or overhead wire at points corre-' sponding to the several streets or stations (preferably mid-way of the crossings) a suitable shell which is shaped to fit said wire and which supports avertically disposed bracket having arms or branches designed at proper intervals to be brought into electrical contact with a point or finger carried by the yoke of the trolley Wheel which travels the wire in the usual manner. As soon as the point orfinger of the wheel yoke is brought into electrical contact with one of the arms of the bracket a closed electric circuit is established with the indicator inside of the car by means of suitable conductors employed between the two. .In the drawings A represents the top portion of an-ordinary electric railway car havw ing thereon the usual trolley wheel B carried D represents any preferred style of indicating mechanism designed to be located in the car and which is supposed to be operated at intervals to display an indicator band or ribbon. I

In the present instance the style of indicator shown is. one in which the shaft for,

. moving the indicator band or ribbon is set in under side or surface of the said arms or -motion by a spring motor (not shown) when ever released by the automatic action of the contact devices, but as this invention relates entir'elyto the means for producing thisautomatic action from. the trolley wire no'speclal form of connection with the indicating mechanism itself need herein be shown or de scribed.

At points of the trolley wire corresponding' r with the several streets or stations I solder-or otherwise secure to the upper surface of s-a' wire a suitable shell a shaped to fit the wireand supporting centrally thereof a vertically disposed bracket 1) having contact arms or branches 0, c, ona plane about coincident with the lower or under surface of said wire. The

branches is preferably curved or'rounded so as to permit the same to pass easily over the surface .of the moving contact points hereinafter referred to. Connecting the two ends of the shell with the sides of thecontact arms or branches are suitable stay rods (Z for strengthening and maintaining the parts in proper relative position.

Attached orsecured to one side of the trolley wheel yoke or frame 0 is a supplemental yoke G in which is pivoted or supported by contact-point side of the arms or branches 0, c, and establishes an electrical connectiontherewith whenever the car has moved along to bring said armfand finger together.

wires f,f, being attached to the two ends of the pivoted finger and passed down through the same has passed against the surface of the arm or branch 0 of the bracket 12, and

its original position (see full lines Fig. .2) after 7 The conducting been made to assume the position shown by thedotted lines in Fig. 2.

The two members of the contact Fare joined or intersected by a small web g which, as shown, is much thinnerthan the said members themselves; being arranged on the pintle e insuch manposition indicated in the drawings, it isevident that when said finger is struck or de- -ner as to maintain the contact normally in the.

and, the spring cushion Q pressed the said cushion will by its own resiliency, restore the contact or finger after pressure is relieved therefrom. This restoration is due to the fact that the cushion is of such thickness or diameter as not to be compressed during the stationary position of the contact, but becomes immediately compressed whenever the contact or finger is struck or turned in the manner indicated.

The two members or portions of thecontact F it will be observed are insulated at f so that the electric circuit will be properly es tablished, and, passing through the wires fif, will be grounded, as seen in dottedlines at conducting wires are shown to conform econstruction of contact shown, so as to l l-i}h-, the electric circuit; It is evident h owever that a single wire onlycould be ein-. ployed with but slight change or alteration in the particular form of movable contact. It ,will be understood that many changes could be resorted to in the construction and arrangement of the several parts constitutin g the devices for operating the indicator, without departing from the scope intended; and it will also be seen-with what reliability either set of said devices will perform their intended function. The form of bracket as well as its appurtenances could also be considerably varied, and the style or shape of the'contact F as well, could be altered to suit the'difterent requirements incident to its-use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letttjrs Patent, is-- 1 1. In means foroperating station indifcators of railway car systems, the combinationwith the-electro-magnet located within the car.

the trolley wire and trolley,'and an automatic indicator located within a car, of electrical contacts arrangedat intervals along the wire, and ,a'movable contact attached directly to 5-the trolley and engaging the contacts-first named for operating the signal or indicator within, substantially as described. 2.I'n an electric railway car system,the

combination with the trolley wire and trolley,v o and an automatic indicator located within a car, of a stationary electrical contact supported by said wire, a corresponding movable contact mounted-on the trolley, and electric conductors leadingtherefrom to the indicator,

1 5 substantially as shown and for the purpose described.

3. In an electric railway car system, the

' combination with the trolley wheel and its yoke, of the supplemental yoke, and the piv- 20 oted or swinging electric contact finger held by said supplemental yoke, and a cushion against which said finger works, substantially as shown and for. the purposedescr-ibed 1 4. In an electric railway car system, the

combination with the trolley :wire and the. z5

wheel and its yoke',of thebracket supported by said wire and. having the lateral electric contact arms or branches, the supplemental lyokgthe pivoted contactsfinger for engaging RUBEN B. AYRES,

Witnessesi H. R.- KUnNE, W; W. SIMONS. 

